20080831 Forgive or Die!

20080831 Forgive or Die!

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In today’s Gospel lesson, we are told of a king who forgave a servant of a very great debt, and how the servant then tormented a fellow servant who owed him much less, refusing to forgive him his debt. We are to notice the great contrast between the actions of the king and his servant, and to know that in this parable the king represents our merciful God, and the unforgiving servant represents all those people who accept the mercy of God, but hold grudges in their hearts and refuse to forgive others.

This parable comes immediately after the Lord told the Apostle Peter, when he asked how many times we should forgive others, that it is more than just seven times, but seventy times seven. Christ is teaching us that we are to develop an attitude of forgiveness. It is as silly to try to come up with a specific number of times we should forgive as it is to come up with the number of times we should love one another or how many times we should pray. The goal is Christ-like perfection, and this requires continual love, continual prayer, and continual forgiveness.

The problem is that some of us refuse to do this. We keep an account of wrongs done against us like a treasure in our hearts. Often it is not “seven”, or even “seventy times seven” wrongs that we hold between us and another, but one! How well we play the part of the petty servant! In so doing we not only do an injustice to our brother, sister, or community; we do immeasurable harm to ourselves, for the resulting bitterness becomes ingrained, coloring how we see not just that other person or community, but how we see the world. This bitterness and spite cripples us, rendering us unable to continue on our journey to everlasting peace.

A few weeks ago (Sunday of the Paralytic, 3rd Sunday after Pascha), we heard of the man beside the pool at Bethsaida who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. Before He healed him, Christ asked this crippled man “do you want to be made well?” The Lord was not being facetious when he asked this. Nor is He being facetious when He asks us this same question now. Of course, the rational answer to this question is “YES!”, but sin is not rational. Hate is not rational. We carry around the remembrance of wrongs committed against us despite the damage that it does. The Lord sees our spiritual infirmity and the willful pride that is its source, and in His infinite love, He wants to heal it – but not against our will.

Do you want to be healed of your spiritual infirmity?

If you want to be freed from your sins, then you must forgive others. If you refuse to forgive, then you cut yourself off from your brother and, in your lack of love and compassion, you cut yourself off from God and everything good. You see, there are only two roads: forgiveness and voluntary excommunication. There are obvious examples: if someone refuses to come to Church and to participate in her Sacraments because of wrongs committed against them here, then they have visibly excommunicated themselves. They have chosen pride over the salvation, peace, and unity in Christ that is found in its fullness within the walls of the Holy Orthodox Church. It is worse than cutting off your nose to spite your face. But even if someone comes to Church every day, if they hold grudges against their neighbor, then they are still resisting the salvific healing that our Lord offers. It is like going to the doctor every day but refusing to follow his advice. Why bother? Is it so much fun to be crippled?

I am not saying that it is easy to forgive. In the parable, there was a legitimate debt owed. I am not telling you to pretend that you have not been hurt by the actions of others. People sin against us and the resulting pain is very real. What I am telling you is that if you want to be healed, if you want to be made well, and if you want to be released from your own debt of sin, that you must let go of the hate threatening to fester in your heart.

Only through forgiveness and love can the peace that passes all understanding grow within your heart.